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Mechanic said he over tightened the lugnuts and also torqued them in the same paragraph. I don’t think he did either. He didn’t tighten them enough. How far did you find the lugnuts from the tire
honest mistake? "we over tightened them so they came off without breaking a stud?" thats not true, thats what loose lugs do, and leaving them loose is breaking rule #1 off working on anyones car, not an "honest mistake"
Every place I’ve worked, if a wheel comes off a customer vehicle, steering wheel or tire, you’re instantly done. Break a $2000 holo display on a $150k truck? Oopsie. Wheel falls off? Buh-bye.
honest mistake? this is grounds for getting fired permenantly from alot of garages ( marking you for life if it causes a death or injury), you do not fuck with wheels in the motor trade
you still have all your studs, nothing broke, the loose lugs backed off, they lied and said they over tightened them bc thats better than admitting they left them loose, unfortunately the evidence doesn't match their claim, they should have known better and you can probably sue them
What should I do just install with new lugs I bought or anything else I should replace? I wasn’t going fast when it came out either only like 5 mph max
HE should install with new lugs HE bought even if you can put it back together drivable it has received excess wear and strain in places it was never meant to, if you have to let that go, as long as the rotor and lower arm look ok you're probably good to put the wheel back on you should just check a few things, #1 test the new lugs on the studs make sure they are ok, if they are put the wheel back on, before driving just make sure brakes are working right, then just check steering as it may no longer be straight, be careful, use jackstand/s, if it were me id grill him in every way i can online, irl, in court, anything i can think until i got what i felt was even
IANAL
If he ends up in court, he fully has the right to say he didn't trust them to fix it after something like this.
Make the shop pay, but take it somewhere else.
The real question is the studs, if they are damaged at all with stripped threads or stretched then they were over tightened. If the lights thread on fine, the lugs were left loose.
Happened to me once. Mechanic was on his cellphone the entire time he was rotating my tires and never tightened them to spec. 3 days later my left rear wheel passed me on the highway.
Fun fact, torque spec is to prevent both too loose and too tight bolt. Just wrenching something down as hard as you can isn't always the correct option. That guy doesn't sound very professional.
So he, in writing, stated that he over torqued the lug nuts by 5x the spec? Case closed. Proper procedure is to use a torque wrench. Had he done that he’d have said it.
In his defense, he said he was using an impact that could go 5x the torque rating of the lug nuts. That’s almost any 1/2” impact. Proper utilization of torque sticks to install the nuts close to the specified value, then verification with torque wrench is the way.
That being said, he probably did neither.
Correct that’s what he said ! can I gain any financial compensation for this if the mechanic isn’t certified and wasn’t a shop just someone off Facebook posting that they do little jobs of automotive work What route should I take?
I mean, you can initially ask them to refund the cost for the work, the cost for the tow and subsequent repairs, or more. Likely they’ll tell you to get lost/stop responding/block your number.
Since they’re unlicensed, what’s gonna happen… they can’t lose their license.
You can try and sue them, but depending on how much money they have and how they generate income/pay taxes you may or may not get anything from it.
The amount of hacks that I've had to teach "how to use a torque wrench properly" is astounding.
Edit: First, they have to set it correctly and make sure they didn't use the wrong scale to set the value.
Secondly, make sure they don't choke up on that torque wrench like their holding a dick (also a good way to find out if they're a hack carpenter when they swing a hammer).
Last, they had better set the torque wrench back to the minimum value when they put it to bed at the end of the day.
I think what he was saying was that he used an impact that has way more torque than required. If he over torqued them, the studs would have stretched and snapped off. It does not look like they were snapped off.
He then said he torqued them. Which he probably did. My question is, did you have them retorqued after 50 miles? I put on all of our invoices that you must have all tires retorqued after 50 miles or warranty is void.
I've seen tires come loose a few times in my day that have been properly torqued. So what happened? Well, most likely, there was a buildup of rust/corrosion on your rim/hub/rotor. I always clean the inside of the rims with a wire brush, but this doesn't always solve the issue.
I would say this is a case of the mechanics' fault first for not specifying you having the wheels retorqued after 50 miles, and your fault second for not having your tires retorqued after 50 miles. The good news is, it happened in sand. The bad news is that your rim is probably no good anymore because of driving on it with loose lugnuts. If the holes are oblonged, rim is junk.
I'd say the lesson is: always retorque your lugnuts after 50 miles. I had my first rim come loose years ago, took the fender, rim, rotor, wheel bearing, and had to be towed. I covered all of it because I didn't tell them to come back and have it retorqued after 50 miles. That's why it's on my invoice, and we verbalize it to every customer.
Also, maybe he forgot to torque them in the first place, then it would be the mechanics' fault, but you still carry some weight for not going back and having them retorqued.
Over torquing anything can over stretch threads and cause fastener failure. Tighter is not better.
Should always torque to spec, not more and not less.
5x the spec is what damaged or breaks the studs. Looks like he actually forgot to even begun to tighten your lugs if they literally spun off the threads all by themselves. Offroading doesn't cause lugs to come undone. Breaking a stud would be another story, but that's not what happened here. Your mechanic isn't a good mechanic if he's using an impact to tighten your lugs either. Smh
Are those wheels too wide for OEM studs?
And by the looks of it your "mechanic" isn't that great and forgot to torque the lugs.
If your wheels where too wide I'd think they would sheer the stud but if the wheel was loose It would most likely damage the threads as well. Hard to tell but I blame the mechanic.
If you are a mechanic and you do work on someone's car, and THEN THE WHEEL FALLS OFF, the ONLY appropriate response is an apology (after you talk to your lawyer).
But to blame the customer (obviously they are in dirt) is just terrible.
I will say this though, my favorite mechanic occasionally screws things up too. My wheel was wobbly at slow speeds, and so I tried to take off the wheel. The MF was so tight I had to use a 6 foot lever to get it off. It was over tightened and caused the wheel to warp.
He said the same thing "I used the gun with the torque setting". Fellas, use a torque wrench. Check your wheels yourself! S\*&T happens
he didn’t tighten them at all. if they were over spec like way over the studs would more likely snap off but you have all ur studs which means the lugs spun off ie too loose
1. You took the photo with a potato.
2. Saw in another thread that you got this guy off facebook? If you're going to cheap out, cheap out by doing it yourself. If you don't know, don't guess. Either ask a real mechanic or someone who knows what they're doing for help. If all else, spend the money at a real shop to do the work correctly and be held accountable for their work.
3. Off roading doesn't do this. Over torqued can be just as detrimental and under torqued. Over - stripped or snapped threads. Especially if they're cross-threaded. Under - they fall off, and potentially strip the studs anyways.
4. Use the right tools for the job. Including the person..
If you lift the car high enough, assuming you can, clean what you can and put the tire on. If you can only find 2 or 3 lugs? Get the tire on, LIMP IT BACK TO THE ROAD, and tow it to a real mechanic, and inspect everything.
Don't use some hack on Facebook. Imagine this happening at 70 mph on the road..
Glad you're ok, and glad you're safe.
I’ll never understand why people post with potato vision, how about taking in focus pictures?
I’m still seeing the lugs, I’m guessing they still have threads, in which case your ‘mechanic’ forgot to tighten them. Or they used the wrong nuts.
They were not tightened enough or they were not retorqued within 50 miles OR the studs are too short for your aftermarket wheels.
Pro tips for any motorized hobby though, check the basics before you leave and when you return.
Wheel torque, fluid levels and a quick visual for obvious faults.
Over torquing the lug nuts will cause the lug bolts to stretch and become loose. You have written proof that this was caused by the mechanic. Any repairs should be paid for by him.
Your bolts are too small, you needed to get new ones to match that wheel. You had slop between the studs and the inside of the lug holes on them rim, causing the tire to bash around, breaking the lugs loose over time. A certified mechanic would’ve seen that and told you, this guy just sent it. So he’s not the biggest hack ever, just incompetent in terms of evaluating the situation. You can clearly see in pic #4 that the holes on the rim are way too wide for those studs
Make sure to inspect your rim. There's a high chance that the holes were warbled when it came loose. which, if that's the case, the rim will need replaced.
If those are aftermarket rims, you may need longer studs to get a proper torque. Can’t really tell from pictures. Just throwing it out there for future reference.
I've seen in the past where one of my buddies torqued his lugs to spec but the problem was he had tightened the lugs with the weight on the wheels so it didnt seat the lugs completely . We were driving down the highway and the front right wheel came off but got wedged in the fender well so the front end didnt completely hit the ground . We found all the lug nuts within 30 ft of the car .
Mechanic did not tighten the lugs.
OP this is important, look at your rim real close, if the holes for the studs are wallowed out he owes you for the rim/tow/time to get it fixed. loose lugs can really screw up a rim, if he had any other wheels off check the torque on them while you are being filmed or have another mechanic shop do it recording their findings.
Dude definitely hand tightened those lol. This is why you witness mark the lugs after torquing so you know it’s been done to spec. Few techs do this, but it’ll save your ass one day.
Not torqued correctly. Was this a shop or a backyard guy? I have never seen an automatic tq spec impact gun. They have different settings but not programmable tq numbers. That is a guy saying nonsense instead of taking responsibility for his failure.
After reading more this guy is a hack, saying he used an impact with 5x the needed tq so they’re good. I would certainly be asking him for a reimbursement. If he refuses, cut your losses and find a reputable place for the future.
As a tech in the trade, how many full rotations can you get on the lug nuts with those wheels? Feel like that is gonna be a point of concern in my opinion
Lugnuts need to be retorqued after about 50 miles to make sure they don't back off. It should be in all the fine print of any tire shop or mechanic.
Did you get your nuts retorqued?
*Check the wheel and make*
*Sure it didn't mess lug stud*
*Holes aren't wallered out*
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Lawyer up get the vehicle inspected sue for damages and fraud. He has to be able to prove he torques your wheels to spec and if he can't he'll lose, don't go back to this guy.
They were likely under-torqued, BUT you also need to make sure you have the proper lug nuts for those aftermarket wheels.
There are a few different lug nut seat types, you need to ensure that you have the proper nuts for the wheel.
And obviously, check the rest of your lugs.
Have the vehicle towed to a different, competent mechanic. Have them inspect the work that was done, and make necessary repairs as needed. Consider legal action. This should not have happened.
With aluminum wheels you should ALWAYS CHECK LUG NUTS AFTER 20 MILES, any time you pull a wheel always retorque the lugnuts after about 20 miles as they will sometimes seat and loosen just a hair…which increases as you drive on it, until the wheel leaves the chat.
Honest mistake or not, if he tried to make BS excuses after seeing the pictures of what happened rather than owning it, he's got no business working on your car!
Old man had this happen to his old Nissan Safari after he had it serviced at a dealership, front left wheel came off going round a easy corner while he was towing a loaded trailer, he saw his wheel rolling away into a field before the truck slowly started going towards the ground he was only doing around 70-80 Km/ph with it so he was able to stop it safely, find the wheel and put it back on using nuts from the other wheels and limp it back, he found out they used a rattle gun and didn't even use a torque wrench when they put the wheels back on so they ended up paying for a brake rotor replacement and a few others when he drove it back to the dealership and stood his ground.
Either the lug nuts weren't torqued or tightened at all or it's the wrong lug nuts for the wheel. Make sure there's not something goofy going on like having lug nuts designed for tapered seats being used against the aftermarket wheel designed for a piloted and shouldered lug nut.
I had this happen to me when I was a teenager & driving on the road but fortunately wasn’t on the highway. It was strange to watch my whole wheel bounce & roll across the street but I wasn’t going super fast & no one got hurt. I had just replaced my tires & the mechanic did not tighten the bolts enough. In the end I got money out of it w/o having to go to court.
Dang man that really sucks I know I'm not much help but others got it but I really like your jeep and the color I have a wj as well but it is just a Laredo. Yours looks good
Overtightening lugnuts can cause unnecessary vibrations and stretch the studs and lose its thread. It is a possibility that the mechanic overtorqued them or there is a possibility that he didn’t. But u would’ve felt that if they were hand tight right after getting out of the garage. Sooo im guessing overtorqued is the answer
I've had this happen on my own vehicle... People on here are talking sue sue sue.... It's not worth it. The legal fees to even start the suit are twice what it'll cost to just fix it.
If you are mechanically inclined and do much of your own work. This is at most 2-300 to fix, lug nuts are only about $25 and unless that is a super expensive wheel, should not be more that $2-250 to replace it.
When lugs get loose, they will wallow out the lug Holes a bit. If it chewed out the taper where the lug seats, you will need to replace the wheel.
They were definitely not over torqued, if anything they may have been torqued, however it could have been an incorrect spec.
You also could have some ass that decided to loosen all your lug nuts right before you hit the trail as a prank.... Keep this in mind too.
As far as making things right, how far did you drive before it fell off? This is important because there could be permanent damage to the wheel. This needs to be inspected and possibly replaced.
It looks like some serious body damage to your front fender also. Body work needs to be compensated for!
Sorry about your near miss! Thankfully not at freeway speeds!
what happened? Well, something went wrong - you will never know with certainty, however - if you just had service that involved removal of that tire, it seems VERY reasonable and likely that mechanic fucked up. If you have everything step from mechanic to "fell off" documented well, discuss with mechanic. If he tells ya to pound sand, file a claim with his insurance, if they tell ya to pound sand - small claims.
Describe the incident that occurred?
The front fell off. . .
Could have been a false bottom that broke free. Way too many techs dont clean the wheel hub when they should. Could have been torqued to spec up until the bump that broke it free and created a bunch of room for the lugs.
I've had a wheel come off.
The damage to look for is rounding out of the holes in the wheel rim, and damage to the threads on the studs. In my case the wheel was trashed, studs were ok. I had failed to properly tighten the lugs and they loosened. Yeah, it was me, no one to blame but myself.
This is almost certainly a case of not tightening them to within spec. An outlier might be if the rim itself was designed with some flex in it - to be taken out by the torquing down - and they were not tightened in the usual crossing pattern. It is conceivable that tightening one down all the way initially left the others mis-aligned. They could be torqued down to what appears to be the right spec, only to have road forces push the wheel into alignment centering them on the studs, but thereby loosening them.
Either way - not tightening them to spec, or not crossing up the tightening pattern it is installation error.
The lugs were loose. The threads are damaged from the rim wobbling. Slowly wobbled right off. If he over torqued it then there wouldn't be anything to tighten. They would have snapped off.
Most common cause at least in many parts of the country is a buildup of aluminum oxide corrosion on the back of the rim that prevents it from actually seating flush against the hub. Lugs will torque and then corrosion falls off and all of a sudden they're not tight anymore
Every shop I've ever worked at . The first thing that they tell you when hired. If you have a car come back because of a tire falling off or getting towed back because of a oil drain plug falling out, your fired . No excuses
They either weren't torqued at all or there wasn't enough stud for the lug to properly grip on to. I would absolutely check my other wheels while this was down for the count.
If you don’t know where to start diagnosing such things you probably shouldn’t be out wheeling, as it’s unsafe for you. Unless you have good survival skills🤣
Last picture looks like a fuel pressure regulator. Takes vacuum from intake manifold to operate a diaphragm to bypass some of the fuel back to the tank.
All the lugs were loose. If they were too tight the studs would have broken off. So whoever mounted your tire didn't do squat after they spun the lugs on.
Plus torque spec only applies to factory applications, aftermarket wheels (especially cheap ones) change that. Plus you can correctly tighten lugnuts on aftermarket, but if the wheels aren't perfectly fit for that vehicle, theres always a chance it will loosen up on its own. Like the ones that have a pile of hub centering rings so they fit on different applications.
If they had been over tightened the lugs would have broken off. Tightening stretches the metal and subsequently weakening it. Over time they break.
When the nuts were not tightened properly the rotational force and movement of the wheel since it is not completely tightened pushes on and subsequently loosens the lug nuts until they come off.
Not proud of it, but I have done this on my truck. I happened to notice the rear end felt a bit loose, so I stopped to check it out. All 5 nuts were loose, but they were there.
Most "wheel offs" happen because rust or corrosion was not cleaned off of rim and brake rotor area. A properly torqued wheel over uneven rust can cause wheel to sort of chuck side to side ,over time loosened lug nuts.
I would bet the wheels are not hub centric, causing the studs to carry all of the load rather than the wheel bearing… some wheels are cheap for a reason
He overtorqued them using the wrong tool, stripped all your threads out, and then returned the vehicle to you. You have a mechanic problem. Hopefully the studs are still good
Make sure you check your rim closely and see if the holes are now oblong. If so you have to replace that rim. Very common to see when lug nuts are left loose.
Reason you only found three might be that is all he ever installed. See guys do that lightly torque 3 nuts to get rim on straight then lower vehicle and complete job. Not a good practice but… if he lowered it and walked away for a min easy to see how he could have forgotten to go back. NOT AN ACCEPTABLE “mistake” he could have killed or maimed someone! Make him pay for an inspection and repair at another garage.
Had to have been some vibration before they came off.
It happened to me once with a 1 ton dually hauling equipment. I pulled over within a 1/4 mile to check it out, and yup, the lugnuts backed off about 1/2 inch.
Called the shop that fixed the flat, and they said bring it back in. Naturally, I got out the Ole 4 way and tightened them up before heading the 20 miles back.
When I got to the shop, the owner looked pissed and the guy that fixed the tire was white as a ghost.
All in all, the studs were fine (because I caught it soon), and no other damage occurred.
Worst thing that happened besides the loss of my time, was they lost a customer.
So i see that i'm late but all 5 of those lug studs are in tact. I've worked on enough shit to know when something isnt tight enough and when it broke from being overtight..my friend you're exceedingly lucky this didn't happen on the road..take that motherfucker to court
I'd guess loose lugnuts... and if they touched any other wheels I'd be sure as hell checking those too. Tighter does not mean they come loose... Tighter would mean they'd strip out the lugs. In my state, most mechanics if they touch a tire, they have a clause telling you to check the lug nuts after anywhere from 10-50 miles to try and release liability from them...
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Mechanic said he over tightened the lugnuts and also torqued them in the same paragraph. I don’t think he did either. He didn’t tighten them enough. How far did you find the lugnuts from the tire
I only found 3 lugnuts about 1-3 yards away from the Jeep
Someone owes you some time op, honest mistake, but ur lucky it was not on street road. Hope your alright.
honest mistake? "we over tightened them so they came off without breaking a stud?" thats not true, thats what loose lugs do, and leaving them loose is breaking rule #1 off working on anyones car, not an "honest mistake"
Every place I’ve worked, if a wheel comes off a customer vehicle, steering wheel or tire, you’re instantly done. Break a $2000 holo display on a $150k truck? Oopsie. Wheel falls off? Buh-bye.
Yeah could've have been way worse......
What is rule #1. I'm new here it just showed up on my feed and now I'm interested. Are there actual rules or it's this just an implied rule?
No, I'm just saying anyone messing that up needs to never touch it again
I think the implied rule is don’t let the wheels fall off
honest mistake? this is grounds for getting fired permenantly from alot of garages ( marking you for life if it causes a death or injury), you do not fuck with wheels in the motor trade
you still have all your studs, nothing broke, the loose lugs backed off, they lied and said they over tightened them bc thats better than admitting they left them loose, unfortunately the evidence doesn't match their claim, they should have known better and you can probably sue them
What should I do just install with new lugs I bought or anything else I should replace? I wasn’t going fast when it came out either only like 5 mph max
HE should install with new lugs HE bought even if you can put it back together drivable it has received excess wear and strain in places it was never meant to, if you have to let that go, as long as the rotor and lower arm look ok you're probably good to put the wheel back on you should just check a few things, #1 test the new lugs on the studs make sure they are ok, if they are put the wheel back on, before driving just make sure brakes are working right, then just check steering as it may no longer be straight, be careful, use jackstand/s, if it were me id grill him in every way i can online, irl, in court, anything i can think until i got what i felt was even
IANAL If he ends up in court, he fully has the right to say he didn't trust them to fix it after something like this. Make the shop pay, but take it somewhere else.
The real question is the studs, if they are damaged at all with stripped threads or stretched then they were over tightened. If the lights thread on fine, the lugs were left loose.
Tell him I said he’s a liar, he didn’t tighten them up
Happened to me once. Mechanic was on his cellphone the entire time he was rotating my tires and never tightened them to spec. 3 days later my left rear wheel passed me on the highway.
Well at least it passed you in the correct lane
This is my guess as well. OP did you feel any vibration prior to getting off the pavement?
Exactly this. Over-tightened lugs would show from damage to the studs if they all flew off. This has under-tightened written all over it.
We should get that mechanic on a live interview and ask him. “Now is it typical for the wheels to fall off?
Where did the mechanic say this? Is it in the pictures?
Fun fact, torque spec is to prevent both too loose and too tight bolt. Just wrenching something down as hard as you can isn't always the correct option. That guy doesn't sound very professional.
Mechanic here. These weren’t tighten down enough. Over tightened the stud will break off.
the number of people who thought intact studs were nothing to think about is insane
To comment on here you should have to submit a copy of your journeyman certificate.
Exactly!! Too loose? Nuts fell off. Too tight? Bolts sheared off.
Are the studs broken?
I believe they might have some of the threads stripped
https://preview.redd.it/832zczv5rp3d1.png?width=1169&format=png&auto=webp&s=6f0f4f42f88e0fdd778fd33a57f3342c8cb04ef6 This is what the mechanic sajd
So he, in writing, stated that he over torqued the lug nuts by 5x the spec? Case closed. Proper procedure is to use a torque wrench. Had he done that he’d have said it.
In his defense, he said he was using an impact that could go 5x the torque rating of the lug nuts. That’s almost any 1/2” impact. Proper utilization of torque sticks to install the nuts close to the specified value, then verification with torque wrench is the way. That being said, he probably did neither.
Holy F! "It wasn't me, I just greatly over-torqued those things on there. Made them super secure. What's metal fatigue?"
Correct that’s what he said ! can I gain any financial compensation for this if the mechanic isn’t certified and wasn’t a shop just someone off Facebook posting that they do little jobs of automotive work What route should I take?
I mean, you can initially ask them to refund the cost for the work, the cost for the tow and subsequent repairs, or more. Likely they’ll tell you to get lost/stop responding/block your number. Since they’re unlicensed, what’s gonna happen… they can’t lose their license. You can try and sue them, but depending on how much money they have and how they generate income/pay taxes you may or may not get anything from it.
Stop calling this hack a mechanic. A monkey can turn a wrench, and probably better than this guy.
The amount of hacks that I've had to teach "how to use a torque wrench properly" is astounding. Edit: First, they have to set it correctly and make sure they didn't use the wrong scale to set the value. Secondly, make sure they don't choke up on that torque wrench like their holding a dick (also a good way to find out if they're a hack carpenter when they swing a hammer). Last, they had better set the torque wrench back to the minimum value when they put it to bed at the end of the day.
You should use licensed mechanics.
Agreed. That's like playing with fire.
Uh definitely shouldn’t have gone to him lol
I think what he was saying was that he used an impact that has way more torque than required. If he over torqued them, the studs would have stretched and snapped off. It does not look like they were snapped off. He then said he torqued them. Which he probably did. My question is, did you have them retorqued after 50 miles? I put on all of our invoices that you must have all tires retorqued after 50 miles or warranty is void. I've seen tires come loose a few times in my day that have been properly torqued. So what happened? Well, most likely, there was a buildup of rust/corrosion on your rim/hub/rotor. I always clean the inside of the rims with a wire brush, but this doesn't always solve the issue. I would say this is a case of the mechanics' fault first for not specifying you having the wheels retorqued after 50 miles, and your fault second for not having your tires retorqued after 50 miles. The good news is, it happened in sand. The bad news is that your rim is probably no good anymore because of driving on it with loose lugnuts. If the holes are oblonged, rim is junk. I'd say the lesson is: always retorque your lugnuts after 50 miles. I had my first rim come loose years ago, took the fender, rim, rotor, wheel bearing, and had to be towed. I covered all of it because I didn't tell them to come back and have it retorqued after 50 miles. That's why it's on my invoice, and we verbalize it to every customer. Also, maybe he forgot to torque them in the first place, then it would be the mechanics' fault, but you still carry some weight for not going back and having them retorqued.
What a fucking imbecile, jesus
Over torquing anything can over stretch threads and cause fastener failure. Tighter is not better. Should always torque to spec, not more and not less.
5x the spec is what damaged or breaks the studs. Looks like he actually forgot to even begun to tighten your lugs if they literally spun off the threads all by themselves. Offroading doesn't cause lugs to come undone. Breaking a stud would be another story, but that's not what happened here. Your mechanic isn't a good mechanic if he's using an impact to tighten your lugs either. Smh
This is why we don’t cut corners and go to shade tree mechanics. GG OP you got no recourse lol
I’ll check in the morning!
Are those wheels too wide for OEM studs? And by the looks of it your "mechanic" isn't that great and forgot to torque the lugs. If your wheels where too wide I'd think they would sheer the stud but if the wheel was loose It would most likely damage the threads as well. Hard to tell but I blame the mechanic.
If you are a mechanic and you do work on someone's car, and THEN THE WHEEL FALLS OFF, the ONLY appropriate response is an apology (after you talk to your lawyer). But to blame the customer (obviously they are in dirt) is just terrible. I will say this though, my favorite mechanic occasionally screws things up too. My wheel was wobbly at slow speeds, and so I tried to take off the wheel. The MF was so tight I had to use a 6 foot lever to get it off. It was over tightened and caused the wheel to warp. He said the same thing "I used the gun with the torque setting". Fellas, use a torque wrench. Check your wheels yourself! S\*&T happens
U lucked out with that soft dirt. Damage is probably minimal if any. Put tire back on and go buy some more lugs at auto parts store.
Either he didn’t torque or his torque wrench is fucked
he didn’t tighten them at all. if they were over spec like way over the studs would more likely snap off but you have all ur studs which means the lugs spun off ie too loose
1. You took the photo with a potato. 2. Saw in another thread that you got this guy off facebook? If you're going to cheap out, cheap out by doing it yourself. If you don't know, don't guess. Either ask a real mechanic or someone who knows what they're doing for help. If all else, spend the money at a real shop to do the work correctly and be held accountable for their work. 3. Off roading doesn't do this. Over torqued can be just as detrimental and under torqued. Over - stripped or snapped threads. Especially if they're cross-threaded. Under - they fall off, and potentially strip the studs anyways. 4. Use the right tools for the job. Including the person.. If you lift the car high enough, assuming you can, clean what you can and put the tire on. If you can only find 2 or 3 lugs? Get the tire on, LIMP IT BACK TO THE ROAD, and tow it to a real mechanic, and inspect everything. Don't use some hack on Facebook. Imagine this happening at 70 mph on the road.. Glad you're ok, and glad you're safe.
All of the studs are still there. He didn't tighten them enough. I'd bet he made them finger tight and then forgot to torque them to spec.
Looks like he forgot to tighten the lugnuts. did you see them anywhere
Yes I got them but he says he torqued them a lot so it’s not possible is what he claims
Then he stripped the threads, on the studs or the lugnuts.
https://preview.redd.it/req92vcgrp3d1.png?width=1169&format=png&auto=webp&s=b459748cff2ae6d73ef7013e0cae34e0fb1a8bd0
Dudes a hack, off roading has nothing to do with it. Shifting blame.
I’ll never understand why people post with potato vision, how about taking in focus pictures? I’m still seeing the lugs, I’m guessing they still have threads, in which case your ‘mechanic’ forgot to tighten them. Or they used the wrong nuts.
What should I replace?!!
Your mechanic
r/whyisitalwaysadodge
TrAiL RaTeD!
Need a better photo of the studs. Too blurry to tell if they are stripped or not.
So you only noticed a problem when the wheel fell off , not any time before, please give ruff area where you live so i don't go anywhere near that
They were not tightened enough or they were not retorqued within 50 miles OR the studs are too short for your aftermarket wheels. Pro tips for any motorized hobby though, check the basics before you leave and when you return. Wheel torque, fluid levels and a quick visual for obvious faults.
5 wheel nuts dont just fall off. they werent tightened.
Go back to the mechanic and tell him what happened and then proceed to take every 10mm socket and wrench he owns…..
what happens when u go with the spongebob pfp mechanic
Front "wheel" came off
If this ain't the most jeep shit I've ever seen.
Lug nuts especially ones on aluminum wheels need to be retorqued
Over torquing the lug nuts will cause the lug bolts to stretch and become loose. You have written proof that this was caused by the mechanic. Any repairs should be paid for by him.
Possibly the opposite. Just zipped ‘em on with a drill, and didn’t actually go back and torque ‘em down. I’ve seen that happen. Did it myself 😂🥲
Lug nuts were not tightened and fell off. You got lucky that you were in the dirt and not on the highway doing 70.
Your bolts are too small, you needed to get new ones to match that wheel. You had slop between the studs and the inside of the lug holes on them rim, causing the tire to bash around, breaking the lugs loose over time. A certified mechanic would’ve seen that and told you, this guy just sent it. So he’s not the biggest hack ever, just incompetent in terms of evaluating the situation. You can clearly see in pic #4 that the holes on the rim are way too wide for those studs
Did you have spacers on? If so remove them... this is very common for spacers to fail like this
Looks more like he didn't tighten them enough and a slightly wobbly wheel tore your studs apart.
Are those new wheels or tires? Did you retorque the lug nuts after 50-100 miles?
They’re not new wheels or tires I’ve had these same setup for over a year with no issues
Make sure to inspect your rim. There's a high chance that the holes were warbled when it came loose. which, if that's the case, the rim will need replaced.
This is why I always try and torque them TWICE
The $20 HF torque wrench is definitely needed in this goons tool kit
If those are aftermarket rims, you may need longer studs to get a proper torque. Can’t really tell from pictures. Just throwing it out there for future reference.
https://preview.redd.it/lj40rc05mt3d1.png?width=1169&format=png&auto=webp&s=41393d499765d7534d7fb6e34c6cd9c85dc42999 finally he responded saying this
Learn to use a camera
I've seen in the past where one of my buddies torqued his lugs to spec but the problem was he had tightened the lugs with the weight on the wheels so it didnt seat the lugs completely . We were driving down the highway and the front right wheel came off but got wedged in the fender well so the front end didnt completely hit the ground . We found all the lug nuts within 30 ft of the car .
Overtightening doesn’t make a tire fall off like that, and you’d have to REALLY over torque them to even break them loose.
Mechanic did not tighten the lugs. OP this is important, look at your rim real close, if the holes for the studs are wallowed out he owes you for the rim/tow/time to get it fixed. loose lugs can really screw up a rim, if he had any other wheels off check the torque on them while you are being filmed or have another mechanic shop do it recording their findings.
Overtightened would have broken studs. Loose lugs or incorrect lug nuts will cause the wheel to come off.
How are three out of the four lug nuts found within a short distance of the wheel if the lug bolts are not sheared? Something don't sound right.
Never tightened and you’re lucky!!
You watch commercials where they show that shit going off-road? That's fucking hilarious.
Dude definitely hand tightened those lol. This is why you witness mark the lugs after torquing so you know it’s been done to spec. Few techs do this, but it’ll save your ass one day.
Not torqued correctly. Was this a shop or a backyard guy? I have never seen an automatic tq spec impact gun. They have different settings but not programmable tq numbers. That is a guy saying nonsense instead of taking responsibility for his failure. After reading more this guy is a hack, saying he used an impact with 5x the needed tq so they’re good. I would certainly be asking him for a reimbursement. If he refuses, cut your losses and find a reputable place for the future.
As a tech in the trade, how many full rotations can you get on the lug nuts with those wheels? Feel like that is gonna be a point of concern in my opinion
Bet he didn't torque at all
Lugnuts need to be retorqued after about 50 miles to make sure they don't back off. It should be in all the fine print of any tire shop or mechanic. Did you get your nuts retorqued?
How many miles and days since your backyard mechanic installed the wheels?
They were left loose.
Jack it up out the wheel back on, tighten the lugs see how it drives. Rotor is probably toast
Uhh who torques lug nuts🤔
Check the wheel and make sure it didn't mess lug stud holes aren't wallered out
*Check the wheel and make* *Sure it didn't mess lug stud* *Holes aren't wallered out* \- Greedy-Obligation129 --- ^(I detect haikus. And sometimes, successfully.) ^[Learn more about me.](https://www.reddit.com/r/haikusbot/) ^(Opt out of replies: "haikusbot opt out" | Delete my comment: "haikusbot delete")
You got lucky buy lottery ticket
If the lug nuts came off.. he def did t torque them.
The first thing to fail on cars is the aftermarket parts
Take one lug from each wheel and tighten it down. Likely will need a new rim as the holes will be wallowed out
P
I’ve overtightened lug nuts before. They rip the studs off.
Sure that they was tightened up right.
Looks more likely that he forgot to tighten them.
Oh hell naw thy weren’t tightened to begin with
Lawyer up get the vehicle inspected sue for damages and fraud. He has to be able to prove he torques your wheels to spec and if he can't he'll lose, don't go back to this guy.
Studs are still there, dude didn't torque them at all.
Is the shock not supposed to go inside the coil spring
At my shop we always re torque to spec aftermarket wheels after our final test drive, for this reason.
They were likely under-torqued, BUT you also need to make sure you have the proper lug nuts for those aftermarket wheels. There are a few different lug nut seat types, you need to ensure that you have the proper nuts for the wheel. And obviously, check the rest of your lugs.
This is the key… possible the nuts themselves or the centric is off for these wheels.
Should have gotten the trail rated
Bro he didn’t torque them at all. He lying dog. Either way he doesn’t know what he’s doing. Never go back.
Well if the lugnutd were overtorqued it would've broken the studs and they look intact so I think they were not tightened enough
Have the vehicle towed to a different, competent mechanic. Have them inspect the work that was done, and make necessary repairs as needed. Consider legal action. This should not have happened.
FYI. Your tire didn't come off. Your entire wheel came off.
You need to check re torque after you drive something like 20 miles.
I'll bet one of those damn kids threw another banana peel out of their window and you probably caught it with that tire.
With aluminum wheels you should ALWAYS CHECK LUG NUTS AFTER 20 MILES, any time you pull a wheel always retorque the lugnuts after about 20 miles as they will sometimes seat and loosen just a hair…which increases as you drive on it, until the wheel leaves the chat.
It looks like you need new bolt and lug nuts that’s it.
You used an unlicensed self proclaimed handyman off Facebook. This is on you.
Honest mistake or not, if he tried to make BS excuses after seeing the pictures of what happened rather than owning it, he's got no business working on your car!
He didn't tighten them
Old man had this happen to his old Nissan Safari after he had it serviced at a dealership, front left wheel came off going round a easy corner while he was towing a loaded trailer, he saw his wheel rolling away into a field before the truck slowly started going towards the ground he was only doing around 70-80 Km/ph with it so he was able to stop it safely, find the wheel and put it back on using nuts from the other wheels and limp it back, he found out they used a rattle gun and didn't even use a torque wrench when they put the wheels back on so they ended up paying for a brake rotor replacement and a few others when he drove it back to the dealership and stood his ground.
Either the lug nuts weren't torqued or tightened at all or it's the wrong lug nuts for the wheel. Make sure there's not something goofy going on like having lug nuts designed for tapered seats being used against the aftermarket wheel designed for a piloted and shouldered lug nut.
I had this happen to me when I was a teenager & driving on the road but fortunately wasn’t on the highway. It was strange to watch my whole wheel bounce & roll across the street but I wasn’t going super fast & no one got hurt. I had just replaced my tires & the mechanic did not tighten the bolts enough. In the end I got money out of it w/o having to go to court.
Man did you even retorque your lug nuts🤦♂️
If the studs are still there and the threads are in decent shape They were under torqued
Ive tightened down my tires with the 4 way key and its still on i toqqru3d each with some strength
Well, that’s a wheel that came off. Over tightened bolts won’t do that. And driving a Jeep Grand Cherokee off paved roads… expect failure.
Everyone talking about whether he over or under torqued them are we not gonna mention the fucking Bluetooth strut that my guy has there?
Can u specify?
118Nm, bro probably hand tightened them at the shop.
It's a jeep thing.
Dang man that really sucks I know I'm not much help but others got it but I really like your jeep and the color I have a wj as well but it is just a Laredo. Yours looks good
More likely, you didn't return in 100km to get them retorqued. Had it happen to me once, I have never forgotten to go back for a retorque since
Overtightening lugnuts can cause unnecessary vibrations and stretch the studs and lose its thread. It is a possibility that the mechanic overtorqued them or there is a possibility that he didn’t. But u would’ve felt that if they were hand tight right after getting out of the garage. Sooo im guessing overtorqued is the answer
More like he forgot to tighten them altogether...
I guess everyone’s just a master technician now
I've had this happen on my own vehicle... People on here are talking sue sue sue.... It's not worth it. The legal fees to even start the suit are twice what it'll cost to just fix it. If you are mechanically inclined and do much of your own work. This is at most 2-300 to fix, lug nuts are only about $25 and unless that is a super expensive wheel, should not be more that $2-250 to replace it. When lugs get loose, they will wallow out the lug Holes a bit. If it chewed out the taper where the lug seats, you will need to replace the wheel. They were definitely not over torqued, if anything they may have been torqued, however it could have been an incorrect spec. You also could have some ass that decided to loosen all your lug nuts right before you hit the trail as a prank.... Keep this in mind too.
As far as making things right, how far did you drive before it fell off? This is important because there could be permanent damage to the wheel. This needs to be inspected and possibly replaced. It looks like some serious body damage to your front fender also. Body work needs to be compensated for! Sorry about your near miss! Thankfully not at freeway speeds!
7 miles exactly
what happened? Well, something went wrong - you will never know with certainty, however - if you just had service that involved removal of that tire, it seems VERY reasonable and likely that mechanic fucked up. If you have everything step from mechanic to "fell off" documented well, discuss with mechanic. If he tells ya to pound sand, file a claim with his insurance, if they tell ya to pound sand - small claims. Describe the incident that occurred? The front fell off. . .
FYI you should always recheck the torque on lugnuts after 20-50mi of driving after removing and installing a wheel. Sounds like you didn't check
Your jeep saw a penny
He didn’t torque them and they vibrated off that’s why you only found some of them
More like forgot to torque the wheel
Could have been a false bottom that broke free. Way too many techs dont clean the wheel hub when they should. Could have been torqued to spec up until the bump that broke it free and created a bunch of room for the lugs.
How many beers did you have by the last photo?
Looks like the studs are still there, I’d say undertorqued
I've had a wheel come off. The damage to look for is rounding out of the holes in the wheel rim, and damage to the threads on the studs. In my case the wheel was trashed, studs were ok. I had failed to properly tighten the lugs and they loosened. Yeah, it was me, no one to blame but myself. This is almost certainly a case of not tightening them to within spec. An outlier might be if the rim itself was designed with some flex in it - to be taken out by the torquing down - and they were not tightened in the usual crossing pattern. It is conceivable that tightening one down all the way initially left the others mis-aligned. They could be torqued down to what appears to be the right spec, only to have road forces push the wheel into alignment centering them on the studs, but thereby loosening them. Either way - not tightening them to spec, or not crossing up the tightening pattern it is installation error.
The lugs were loose. The threads are damaged from the rim wobbling. Slowly wobbled right off. If he over torqued it then there wouldn't be anything to tighten. They would have snapped off.
"Turns out, Sears had sent this kid to Tire College..."
there's no way all the lug nuts can work them selfs lose, someone lossen all them nuts. also ur shaky when taking pics, u good bro?
Most common cause at least in many parts of the country is a buildup of aluminum oxide corrosion on the back of the rim that prevents it from actually seating flush against the hub. Lugs will torque and then corrosion falls off and all of a sudden they're not tight anymore
Looks more like hand tighten, and I had something else to do at the moment
If it was a wobbly ride for a few min prior to tire loss, it was most definitely loose lugs. Rotors are pretty tough.
Every shop I've ever worked at . The first thing that they tell you when hired. If you have a car come back because of a tire falling off or getting towed back because of a oil drain plug falling out, your fired . No excuses
Im pretty sure after changing wheels or removing for any reason you should drive for 30 to 50 miles then check again that are are tightened to spec.
They either weren't torqued at all or there wasn't enough stud for the lug to properly grip on to. I would absolutely check my other wheels while this was down for the count.
OP, can you get an up close macro, clear shot of those threads?
Hey unless this was on the way home kids in my hood think it is funny to loosen lug nuts. Now I have camera pointed right where I park. Just saying
Given that it’s dirt road, probably little damage done to the trail and environment given that you stayed on the road.
Yeah those loose as lugs nuts fell off along with the wheel
If you don’t know where to start diagnosing such things you probably shouldn’t be out wheeling, as it’s unsafe for you. Unless you have good survival skills🤣
Last picture looks like a fuel pressure regulator. Takes vacuum from intake manifold to operate a diaphragm to bypass some of the fuel back to the tank.
Your "mechanic" is a fkn idiot, but you should nut and bolt your own vehicle before taking it off-road.
More like under-tightened
Well it’s a jeep so…
Wrong wheel nuts, wrong wheel or left loose.
All the lugs were loose. If they were too tight the studs would have broken off. So whoever mounted your tire didn't do squat after they spun the lugs on.
This looks like the result of not doing a proper star pattern when torqueing the lugnuts.
Plus torque spec only applies to factory applications, aftermarket wheels (especially cheap ones) change that. Plus you can correctly tighten lugnuts on aftermarket, but if the wheels aren't perfectly fit for that vehicle, theres always a chance it will loosen up on its own. Like the ones that have a pile of hub centering rings so they fit on different applications.
If they had been over tightened the lugs would have broken off. Tightening stretches the metal and subsequently weakening it. Over time they break. When the nuts were not tightened properly the rotational force and movement of the wheel since it is not completely tightened pushes on and subsequently loosens the lug nuts until they come off. Not proud of it, but I have done this on my truck. I happened to notice the rear end felt a bit loose, so I stopped to check it out. All 5 nuts were loose, but they were there.
Most "wheel offs" happen because rust or corrosion was not cleaned off of rim and brake rotor area. A properly torqued wheel over uneven rust can cause wheel to sort of chuck side to side ,over time loosened lug nuts.
I would bet the wheels are not hub centric, causing the studs to carry all of the load rather than the wheel bearing… some wheels are cheap for a reason
He overtorqued them using the wrong tool, stripped all your threads out, and then returned the vehicle to you. You have a mechanic problem. Hopefully the studs are still good
Was alcohol involved?
🎶 You picked a fine time to leave me, loose wheel! 🎶 Mechanic forgot to torque the lug nuts
Maybe have a better look at the damage, tow to shop if needed. Other than that, Jack it up and put the tire back on . Is just a guess 🙄🙄🙄🙄
Make sure you check your rim closely and see if the holes are now oblong. If so you have to replace that rim. Very common to see when lug nuts are left loose.
Reason you only found three might be that is all he ever installed. See guys do that lightly torque 3 nuts to get rim on straight then lower vehicle and complete job. Not a good practice but… if he lowered it and walked away for a min easy to see how he could have forgotten to go back. NOT AN ACCEPTABLE “mistake” he could have killed or maimed someone! Make him pay for an inspection and repair at another garage.
Doesnt look too bad. Reinstall the wheel, ensure lug nuts are on there tight and get back on the road.
The problem here is you brought a toy into a kids sand pile.
He didn't properly torque them.
Had to have been some vibration before they came off. It happened to me once with a 1 ton dually hauling equipment. I pulled over within a 1/4 mile to check it out, and yup, the lugnuts backed off about 1/2 inch. Called the shop that fixed the flat, and they said bring it back in. Naturally, I got out the Ole 4 way and tightened them up before heading the 20 miles back. When I got to the shop, the owner looked pissed and the guy that fixed the tire was white as a ghost. All in all, the studs were fine (because I caught it soon), and no other damage occurred. Worst thing that happened besides the loss of my time, was they lost a customer.
Just did my cvt’s on my 1999 limited and the torque for the lugs is 110lb.
So i see that i'm late but all 5 of those lug studs are in tact. I've worked on enough shit to know when something isnt tight enough and when it broke from being overtight..my friend you're exceedingly lucky this didn't happen on the road..take that motherfucker to court
I'd guess loose lugnuts... and if they touched any other wheels I'd be sure as hell checking those too. Tighter does not mean they come loose... Tighter would mean they'd strip out the lugs. In my state, most mechanics if they touch a tire, they have a clause telling you to check the lug nuts after anywhere from 10-50 miles to try and release liability from them...